HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! A dear friend of mine sent a link to http://www.scholastic.com/scholastic_thanksgiving/voyage/index.htm. There you can find an interactive site about the pilgrims, the Mayflower, the way of life for both them and the Wampanoag. It is really cool.
It is interesting that turkey, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce,(no sugar...) and some other things we consider traditional were probably not even served. Plus, the Wampanoag outnumbered the pilgrims 90-50! They traveled about a two days journey and the feasting lasted at least a week. Venison, and wild fowl, such as duck was served, as it was plentiful in that region back then.
So interesting. It makes me think about how we try to romanticize the past. Anyway, I personally have my turkey in the roaster along with carrots and onions. Karissa and I prepared the green bean casserole last night, so it is just getting popped in the oven. Katherine and I made the pumpkin pies, one of which is in the freezer to be used at Christmas. I will be making stuffing, homemade mashed potatoes and sweet potato casserole (with the marshmallows and nuts.) Of course cranberry sauce.
Do you have any traditional food that is a bit out of the norm for Thanksgiving? I think it would be fun to add the venison...

Freecycling Rocks!

I have joined a freecycling group, and it has been the neatest experience. It is an organization where you can post to give away, or a need you have, and people just give stuff away for free! We have been able to so far, give a way a desk, our birdcage (with birds), clothes, and a dresser. We have been the recipients of a large, red desk and an algae eater for our fishtank. So cool! What I really like is that I am giving my stuff to someone who I meet, who really has the needs, and I know right away it is being put to good use. There are freecycling groups all over the country. You can find one in your area at www.freecycle.org. I think you should check it out!
I didn't mean for this to be a commercial, but I am just so excited about it!

Random Thoughts

Am I a little insane for planning on home schooling all next week except Thursday and Friday? I always have this goal to be half way done with everything by Christmas break. BUT, in order to do that, I hardly ever get any days off. EVER!
How healthy is that?
Why did I spend $51 today on school pictures that I haven't even seen yet?
Why don't mothers ever get a day off? Only if we are sick. We can't even enjoy not feeling well because we watch everything fall apart around us, so do we EVER really recover?
I need to make an appointment to go to the eye doctor. NOW. I have to throw my contacts away immediately and my prescription expired.
My husband got me invited to a baby shower on Saturday. I don't even know the girl. I've never met her. She is the wife of a business associate of ours. In fact, we've invited them over for lunch, they've stood us up, and then never returned our calls. Now, I am going to her baby shower. I hope it isn't too awkward.
It is currently 10:46 P.M. and I am supposed to make some kind of "treat" for the kids' Thanksgiving parties tomorrow. I hope we can leave early enough that we can stop by the store on the way. How early do I need to wake up to make 3 batches of cookies? Or, could I just make one batch and count out just one cookie per child in each class?
Random thoughts like this pop in and out of my mind all day long? In and out. All day long. I can't escape them. If I try, they quickly find me. Read a book. Oops, I forgot to transfer the clothes from the washer to the dryer. Why is my son wearing his underwear on the outside of his pants? When did this child last bathe? Did I unplug the toaster?
Oh, how do we sort out this jumbled mind???

Establishing Thankfulness

I have been failing miserably at my goal of posting twice per week! Here it is, November 8th, and I am just starting this month. I was spurred on by my wonderful friends who posted comments, so here we go...
The topic today is an interesting one. I want to know what you all do to encourage thankfulness and generosity with your children. Paul was in church on Sunday and just decided he was going to go out and start passing out cheap sandwiches to homeless people randomly. He wants to take the whole family along. Well, immediately I had all kinds of sirens sounding in my mind. I think it would be good to maybe get involved with an organization rather than go out on our own. I am not against giving, and I think it is a great idea, I would just feel safer finding a system that is already in place and getting involved that way. Especially if our children are involved. Sometimes I think it would be impactful to just forgo the traditional altogether and go out and serve the community somehow. Isn't that what it is all about? Really, we are so thankful and so blessed, why not use the holidays as an opportunity to give back? Yet again, it is nice to remember to bless our family members as well. What kinds of activities/traditions do your families follow at Thanksgiving? Do you do anything with your kids in addition to the regular meal? We don't really have immediate family around, so we've tried to establish our own traditions, but I don't know how successful we've been at that. I want our children to grow up thinking of others, and being grateful for what they are blessed with, and NOT comparing themselves to others, which only leads to discontentment. We are supposed to be content in all things, giving thanks. It can get so stressful at times, going to the store at this time of year, and I am enveloped in reminders of all the preparations I am bound to make--the unspoken rules of the season. Yet, I am excited to spend the time, to establish those traditions, and to create those memories. How do we balance this out? I don't want the focus to be exclusively intrinsic, but also away from ourselves! If you do this, what is it you do? Do you stick to only one thing? How do you choose? Let's inspire each other!